Tuesday, December 27, 2016

There
is a great disturbance in The Force today with the passing of Carrie Fisher.

Today
Miss Fisher’s family and friends lost a loved one and important piece of their
existence, and Star Wars fans across the globe lost someone very near and dear
to our hearts. As the world mourns, remembers and celebrates the life of Carrie
Fisher, thousands of articles about Carrie’s life, career, role as Princess
Leia, etc. will be written, published and posted. So while sitting here,
staring at the Princess Leia and R2 Gentle Giant statue in the display case
next to my office desk, I feel little desire to simply add another article to
the pile. Instead, I’m just going to tell a brief story from my childhood.

As
a kid (age 3-6 range), I had four major crushes: Princess Leia, She-Ra, Daisy
Duke, and one of the lifeguards at our local public pool. Return of the Jedi
was the first movie I saw in theaters, and let me tell you, slave Leia was just
about the hottest thing in the universe to a three and a half year old in the
early 80’s. Thus, I went through a phase where I had every babysitter play
Princess Leia so that I could play Luke and save her, or play Han and try to
get with her. You know, because four year old little boys actually believe they
have a chance with their sixteen year old babysitter… Haha! And it wasn’t just
playing around all willy-nilly either. No, I had everything elaborately
scripted in my head. I had lines for them to recite at precise moments, one specific
couch was Jabba’s sail barge, the fire place was the un-extended bridge on the
Death Star, etc., etc., etc.I was like
a young George Lucas! And I’m sure my mother could provide greater detail, but
I believe she would inform each babysitter ahead of time, like it was a
requirement for getting the job or something. Obviously it was just harmless
and cute fun, and every babysitter was cool with it. So yeah, I saved my fair
share of young Princess Leia’s, and the galaxy, aka our living room, was always
safe and strong in The Force!

Rest
in Peace Carrie. You will forever be vibrantly alive in my heart, my memory,
and my continual re-watching of the Original Trilogy. May The Force Be With
You, always.

Monday, December 19, 2016

This year we (Manifesters), decided
to do something a little different and fun for the holiday season. We released
a collection of music that we simply dubbed the "2016 Holiday
Package". The Holiday Package consists of our six releases of 2016, plus
three bonus tracks no longer available for regular download.

The package saves fans some money,
versus downloading the six 2016 releases individually, and is only available
from Cyber Monday to New Year's Eve, exclusively on Manifesters' website. So
it's a great deal, if I do say so myself...haha!

Additionally, the Holiday Package
serves as something of a compilation album. Our releases this year featured
music from Manifesters, Versifier, Oxcyde & Versifier, DayBreakers
(Versifier + Hypnose), and collaborations with Hypnose, Big Jess, and Cali
Fool. Production wise, the Holiday Package features beats from Oxcyde, Online,
Lorenzo, Versifier, and Big Jess. And of course, everything was recorded, mixed
and mastered by Big Jess. Also, aside from multiple Minnesotan artists, the
Holiday Package brings in Oxcyde from Melbourne, Australia, and Cali Fool and
Lorenzo from Ohio. Thus, listeners get an all-star cast with a wide variety of
styles.

We had a great year of making music
with some incredible artists, and are extremely happy and excited to share it all in
one place!

Manifesters' 2016 Holiday Package
track list:

1-7. Oxcyde and Versifier "Far
Beyond" EP

8. DayBreakers – Break Out

9. Manifesters & Cali Fool – Post
That

10. Versifier feat. Cali Fool – Still
Awake

11. Versifier feat. Hypnose and Big
Jess – Such A Mess

12. Versifier – E-Cigs and Diet Coke

BT. Manifesters feat. Hypnose – Spit
Like

BT. Manifesters – Inferno

BT. Versifier – He’s Dangerous

So don't delay, go to www.manifesters.com
and download the Holiday Package before it's gone along with 2016!

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Welcome
(back) to Versifier Unleashed! I started this blog in January of 2012 with some
hefty ambitions. However, after only seventy eight posts, the blog went dormant
in April of 2013. Truth be told, I have no idea where seventy eight posts in
sixteen months, which averages out to a little fewer than five a month, falls
in the spectrum of most blogs. Maybe I was overachieving and had no idea…? For
a time I even kept a running list of topics, items, events, thoughts, etc. I
wanted to write about. Alas, life’s dance carried me off in different
directions and here we are, almost four years later.

With
the start of a new year only two weeks away I figure it is the perfect time to
regenerate. I’ve archived and removed the old posts from the blog so we can start
fresh with a new chapter and new look. Writing is very much a part of my daily
life. Between rhymes/music lyrics, poetry, writing at work, social media, web
content, personal correspondence, etc., I get to write in a wide variety of
styles and formats. Yet what is missing amongst all that is an open podium with
which I can serve a buffet plate of life’s moments and reflections. A blog is
the perfect medium to do just that. Thus, we begin!

What
can one expect to read on my blog?

Well,
I can tell you that a large portion will focus on Hip Hop, music, Star Wars,
dogs (mainly my dog), the 501st Legion, and sports, as those are my
biggest passions. But I’m sure I’ll sprinkle some extra, off-topic stuff in
from time to time. You know, keep it interesting!

So
keep a cup of coffee, can of Diet Coke, or glass of whiskey on the rocks handy.
It will be a fun ride!